VATICAN (CNS): Greg Burke, head of the Vatican press office, called the abuses described in a 900-page grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, the United States “criminal and morally reprehensible.”

He said, “Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and their faith. The Church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur.”